White Plains CitizeNetReporter - Former Hashmall Aid Dead. The Mystery of David Meyers.

WPCNR County Clarion-Ledger. By John F. Bailey. November 14, 2002 UPDATED 2:00 PM, UPDATED 9:45 PM, November 15, 2002, UPDATED November 18 1:00 E.D.T.: A former Assistant to the County Executive, David Meyers is dead at the age of 31, not 28 as previous police-generated information reported. Reports of his death spread through the County’s Michaelian Office Building Tuesday, with many employees who liked him very much expressing sorrow and despondence over the news. There was a memorial service held at Riverside Memorial Chapel this morning, with approximately 500 or more persons attending to pay their respects. WPCNR has learned that a second chapel of mourners was opened on the first floor of the Riverside Memorial Chapel to accommodate the outpouring of support. Mourners watched the service unfold on closed circuit television.

The County Executive's office provided only spare information about Mr. Meyers' brief career with Westchester County earlier this week.

Mr. Meyers worked for the county up until approximately six months ago for Larry Schwartz of the County Executive’s office, according to an acquaintance who worked with Mr. Meyers, and was familiar with his duties for the County at the time. Mr. Meyers, according to this close associate, left the county of his own accord in June, but, by mutual agreement, to take a position with the Federal Government’s Fannie Mae program in Washington D.C. Another acquaintance of Meyers said he was well-liked, “well-thought-of when he left to go to DC.”

A Joyful Sendoff

The acquaintance said they attended a party for Mr. Meyers, sometime in August, where he celebrated taking his new position. He and his family were reported upbeat at the time, at starting a new life in Washington, D.C.

Word of Mouth

Mr. Meyers’ death is reported by this associate of Mr. Meyers to have occurred in New York City at his residence “sometime over the weekend.” His official obituary, appearing in The New York Times Friday morning places the death as having occurred Monday, November 11, Veterans Day.

At the service Thursday morning, it was sadly confirmed that Mr. Meyers had taken his own life.

No official details of his death were available from the County Executive’s Department of Communications, when called Tuesday by WPCNR. No statements had been issued on his demise all week by the County Executive’s office.

There had been no obituary published in either The New York Times or The Journal News, announcing his funeral which took place in New York Thursday morning.

Cause of Death

According to persons living in Chappaqua where Mr. Meyers was reported to be from, but that is not confirmed either, is said to be from a fall from his apartment sometime over the past weekend, now placed as November 11. However, The New York Police Department Public Information Office was unable to find a record of the incident when contacted by WPCNR, and could provide no information on the details of the time or date.

Family sent away.

A source revealed to WPCNR his family was not with him at the time, and he had actually sent them away from his apartment according to information believed to be from reliable sources. This was confirmed by statements made during the service Thursday morning.

A good guy gone.

“He was a good guy,” our correspondent who attended the August party for Meyers said. “Hard working, diligent at his job. A good guy.”

The Meyers death and the circumstances surrounding it are a shock to all: Another acquaintance of Meyers who socialized with him just last week told WPCNR,

“News of David’s death absolutely stunned me. I saw him a week ago at Noam Bramson’s Headquarters on Election Night,” the former associate recalls, describing Mr. Meyers as being “everything young and energetic. David was, like any one, after a hard fought political campaign, disappointed to have his man lose – he worked very hard for Bramson-- but we talked about getting together and talking about ideas. There wasn’t the least little hint of anything like this.”

Meyers was one of three aids to former Deputy County Executive Jay Hashmall (Robin Schlaff and Symra Brandon were the other two), who were reported subpoenaed in early December, 2001 by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.

The subpoenas were issued as part of a grand jury probe, reported convened by District Attorney Jeanine Pirro to investigate the no-bid county contracts that Mr. Hashmall was accused of streering to County Site Development Corporation. Hashmall was never charged and neither were any of the persons reported served with subpoenas. WPCNR has since been informed that Mr. Meyers' name had appeared on a subpoena but had, in fact, never been served.

Our source who socialized with Mr. Meyers on Election Night advised us that “he was totally out of the picture on the Hashmall matters of last year. This is totally a stunner to any of us who worked with him.”

A person who knew Meyers, when contacted by WPCNR Tuesday was indignant that WPCNR was asking her about him. She said, "Who knows what demons were inside him?"

Then she slammed down the telephone.

Saddest of Moments

Services for Mr. Meyers were held at Riverside Memorial Chapel on West 76th Street beginning at 10:10 A.M Thursday morning. The service was held up to accommodate the overflow crowd of persons wishing to remember Mr. Myers, including County Executive Andrew Spano and his assistant, Larry Schwartz.

Executive Spano was visibly moved, bowing his head low at the most poignant moment in the ceremonies: when Mr. Meyers' mother read his long, final suicide note to his family, which ended with his writing, and I paraphase, here "This is something I feel I have to do."

Interment was scheduled for Mount Eden Cemetery today.

Words cannot convey the love for Mr. Meyers shared at the service this morning, what WPCNR took from it was that Mr. Meyers is remembered as a bright light, a person who above all stood for and fought for justice in his last moments.


Create an account		The White Plains Daily Internet Newspaper...Founded 2000 A.D....


			Designed and hosted by WestchesterInternet.com